Newton supermarket plans given go-ahead

Apr 3 2008 By Lorna Hughes

CONTROVERSIAL plans to turn a car showroom in Newton into a supermarket have been approved by Wirral Council.
 
The application for a Co-op store in Frankby Road - on land currently occupied by a Mitchell Skoda dealership - went before planning committee members last Thursday.
 
A decision on the proposals was delayed from February for a site visit.
 
Councillors heard 27 letters and a 246-signature petition had been received objecting to the development, with a number of letters - also against the plans - sent to Wallasey Town Hall on the day of the meeting.

The council received one letter of support saying the store would provide a much- needed local service.
 
Those against said they feared the proposal would result in a dangerous increase in traffic, anti-social behaviour problems and harm the character of Newton.
 
Co-op representatives argued the store, which is forecast to have annual sales of £1m, would provide much-needed local shopping facilities.
 
Council planning officers recommended the plan for approval, saying it complied with planning policies and would not have a detrimental impact on the “residential amenity” of surrounding properties, highway safety or the viability of nearby town and shopping centres.
 
Bernard McAdams, who lives on Frankby Road, spoke of residents' fears that deliveries would lead to noise and traffic chaos, including HGVs being parked at the nearby roundabout and bus stops.
 
He said: “The proposal is of a scale that is inappropriate to surrounding developments and a scale that will detrimentally change the character of the area. It is four times the size of the existing largest store in Newton.
 
“Common sense and 1000 customers daily tell you there will be more than small additional traffic movements and there will be a severe impact on the road.
 
“The Co-op claim they can control how their delivery vehicles access the site, they cannot control other delivery companies and what happens when they arrive together?
 
“Two large secondary schools use the bus stops on either side of the development - increased traffic will present dangers to these children.
 
“The nearest dwelling is only 2.5m from the loading and servicing area. No need has been established for the development, which would cause nuisance and disturbance and prevent the peaceful enjoyment of residents' homes.”
 
Jeffrey Dyson, representing the Co-operative Group, said the store would enable the people of Newton to do their shopping locally, without having to travel to Greasby or into West Kirby and benefit those without access to private transport.
 
He told councillors: “The only existing store of note within the catchment is a small Spar store, which offers only a limited range of goods.
 
“Our retail study shows there is a clear need for this type of facility in Newton. The Mitchell Skoda site is certainly the best, and probably the only, site in Newton capable of accommodating it.
 
“There are concerns that cars will park along Frankby Road. We do not believe this will occur. The on-site car parking is far more than adequate to serve the store.
 
“The average customer stay at a convenience store is less than 7 minutes, this means the proposed car park can accomodate over 100 customer visits per hour.
 
“To allay concerns we have agreed to pay a sum of money to the council so that in the unlikely event an issue does arrive they will be able to introduce double yellow lining at our expense.
 
He said Co-op had offered to close the store at 10pm every night, an hour earlier than originally planned, and restrict large deliveries to daytime.
 
The company said it did not believe anti-social behaviour would be a issue in Newton, but councillors were told it would install CCTV and use a Mosquito youth deterrent system.
 
The store will be open 7 days a week, from 7am until 10pm every day.
 
The application was voted through by 6 votes to 4.
 
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